He climbed out onto the driveway and left his door open, so the seatbelt chime kept dinging in a steady, endless rhythm.

“Arthur said we ought to talk about the estate account check before the relatives get here at noon,” Julian said, walking toward me with his hands buried in his coat pockets.

“If you sign the release form now, I can wire five thousand dollars straight into your nursery fund by Monday morning.”

“The nursery fund is already full,” I said.

Julian stopped five feet from me, his eyes narrowing a little as he looked down at the hard leather briefcase in my right hand.